Barack Obama

Barack Obama is the 44th president of the United States. He was a Democratic U.S. Senator from Illinois and served three terms in the Illinois Senate. As president, he has made many policy moves related to health care, the economy, abortion, same-sex marriage, religious freedom, and other issues. Obama was baptized at the Trinity United Church of Christ in 1988 and an active member for many years. He formally parted with Trinity in 2008 after statements by Trinity's Rev. Jeremiah Wright became public. During his presidential term, he sought spiritual guidance and prayer from pastors like T.D. Jakes and Joel Hunter. He and his wife, Michelle, have two children.

When it comes to civil government and common courtesy, it’s not Obama or Romney who need reminders. The people who need a reminder of putting the common good ahead of self-preservation, a reminder of compromise, a reminder of telling the truth and sharing, are our representatives serving in Congress.

I don’t think much about tax policy, job creation, teachers unions, national defense, or public health. And I suspect that neither Romney nor Obama spends much time thinking about chores and report cards and rusty minivans. I certainly hope they don’t.

If we take any religion seriously, we should be interested in what faith (if any) politicians hold, what creed (if any) they profess, for the same reason that we should be interested in all the other forces and influences that shape their ideas about the world.

Attempts to prove or disprove Obama’s religious commitments encounter a special set of problems. Foremost among them is the fact that, despite the American public’s general familiarity with Christianity, we have no public consensus as to what constitutes a Christian.